Green Lantern Unlimited
by S-Shield
Summary: Set in the DC Animated Universe. When Honor Guard member John Stewart returns to Sector 2814 to relieve rookie Green Lantern Kyle Rayner of duty, they encounter a secret evil hidden under the planet's surface, capable of destroying all life.
1. Chapter 1

Sector 666. The Planet Ysmault.

The creature stared, with unblinking eye, at the emerald sigil before him. A ring, carved in the form of a lantern, it sat on the broken arm of a dead man.

The creature smiled.

Atrocitus stood atop a mound of mismatched alien bodies, each one dressed in the familiar green and black uniform of the Green Lantern Corp. His thick red skin almost shivered in joy as he gazed down at his kill.

Six Lanterns dead.

"Puppets of the Guardians!" he roared. "Your powers are nothing compared to theirs… Or mine!"

His raging boast carried all the way up to the heavens, if such a place could exist on this hellish world, whose broken red surface matched that of its demonic inhabitant.

Millennia ago, the ageless and all-powerful Guardians of the Universe had sealed the Demons of the Five Inversions on this planet, in hopes of stopping their rampage throughout the universe. The Guardians' power was strong indeed. But time wears thin even the most powerful spells.

And so Atrocitus was free.

"Don't count us out yet, ugly!" a commanding voice shouted from high above.

The demon turned, and instantly his mouth was bound shut by a band of green energy.

"And get your damn hands off our teammates!"

John Stewart led the eight members of the Honor Guard down to the planet's surface, his eyes glowing green with concentrated willpower.

Atrocitus brought down his fists, shattering his bonds and flinging himself at the Lanterns.

"You are nothing!" he shouted. "You are fleas!"

"Hit him hard, crew!" Stewart ordered as his men spread out and aimed their rings at the approaching beast.

Nine beams of green power slammed into Atrocitus with all the force of a small moon colliding with a planet. The creature struck the ground hard and his impact drove him several miles along the planet's surface, forming a thin but deep trench.

These things, the monster thought as he tasted his own blood in his mouth, they were different. Not like the soft corpsmen he had fed on earlier.

These were true warriors.

Atrocitus tried climbing his way out of the ditch, but his wounds were great.

"I will eat your bones!" he cried. "I will carve RED lanterns from your skulls!"

A shadow crossed over his face, and he looked up to see Stewart standing above him. Neither anger nor bloodlust shown in his eyes. There was only will.

"You first," Stewart said, in one quick motion ramming his ring-fist down the demon's throat and unleashing a torrent of energy.

Atrocitus screamed in rage and pain as the red world around him faded to green.

888888888888888888

With the smoke cleared and Atrocitus bound and returned to his subterranean tomb, the members of the Green Lantern Corp began to attend to their fallen comrades.

"Six Lanterns dead," thought John Stewart aloud.

"It's hard to believe," said Katma Tui, as she approached.

"They had no business being here," Stewart said. "They were just regular members, not Honor Guard. They weren't qualified for something like this."

"They knew the risk," Katma assured him. "They were just the closest Lanterns to this sector. The first to respond."

Stewart said nothing.

"Look, even the Guardians had trouble with Atrocitus back in the day. And we took him down. That's cause for celebration. You're probably looking at a promotion."

Stewart still said nothing.

Suddenly, a small voice picked up as Stewart's ring began to glow involuntarily.

"Green Lantern Honor Guard Designate JOHN STEWART," it said. "Incoming message from the Guardians of the Universe."

"See, I told you," Katma smiled. "Promotion."

John held up his ring and replied, "Go for message, ring."

"John Stewart, you are to report to Oa immediately for demotion and reassignment. That is all."

"What!" spat Katma Tui, as John continued to stare at his ring.

888888888888888888

Oa.

Center of the Universe, and home to the immortal Guardians.

"Abin Sur is dead," spoke the Guardian, in a voice so devoid of passion it sounded like he was reading the weather report.

They almost looked comical. Eighteen men and women, all blue-skinned with giant heads and tiny bodies. They sat on raised platforms along one side of the wall, facing Stewart. It was hard to believe such little bodies could contain so much power.

"How is that possible?" John Stewart roared, his voice echoing within the Great Hall, deep inside the Main Citadel. "Abin Sur was the best of us! Who could kill him!"

With one voice, the eighteen Guardians of the Universe spoke a single word.

"Sinestro," they said.

John Stewart could feel his blood begin to boil at the very mention of that name.

"The Renegade Sinestro," said one of the Guardians. "Once counted among the greatest of the Green Lantern Corp. Student of Abin Sur and your very teacher."

"When it was discovered that he had taken control of his home planet of Korugar," another continued the story, "ruling it with fear, he was removed from service, and banished to the Anti-Matter Universe."

"But there, he formed an alliance with the Weaponers of Qward, who fashioned him a power ring that emits energy harnessed from the yellow end of the Spectrum."

"And ever since returning to our universe, he has been hunting down one Green Lantern Corp member after another."

"So Sinestro is back?" Stewart raged. "Fine. Then I'll bring him in myself!"

As he turned to leave, the Guardian's halted him, "That is not necessary."

"The killer of Abin Sur has already been apprehended, and he awaits trial in one of the Sciencells."

"Apprehended?" asked a confused Stewart. "By who?"

"By Abin Sur's replacement. An Earthman, like yourself. An artist named Kyle Rayner"

"An artist? But the Green Lantern Corp is a military organization. There must have been some mistake!" Stewart reasoned.

One of the Guardians leaned forward.

"The Ring chooses the wearer, John Stewart, you know that. Civilian or not, Abin Sur's ring has chosen him, and he has used it to defeat Sinestro. But he is untrained, and so he will be brought here to refine his skills. However, Sector 2814 cannot be without a Green Lantern. Therefore you must leave Oa, and take his place, resuming life on your home planet of Earth."

Stewart eyed the little blue men suspiciously, as if not believing everything they were telling him.

"Well, if this new kid is so damn great, why does he need additional training? What's really going on?"

The Guardians sat silently for a moment. But John knew that they were communicating with each other via telepathy. They were trying to decide how many of their cards to turn over.

Finally, one spoke up.

"We admit that we are intrigued by the unorthodox style with which he wields the ring. He shows a broadness of mind and willingness to experiment lacking in our present members. Perhaps there is some benefit in recruiting those with a more creative mindset."

"Nevertheless," chimed in another, "you will go and alert him personally that he has 24 Earth hours to get his affairs in order. And then you will relieve him of duty. That is final."

John simply glared at the Guardians. He knew he had lost this fight. Still, he couldn't leave with nothing.

"I want to see Sinestro," he said through gritted teeth.

8888888888888

S-Shield's notes

Had the various components of this story in my mind for a long time, trying to figure out how they got from Kyle in _Superman the Animated Series_ to John in _JLU_. Also, I mixed in a little Geoff Johns' Green Lantern material from the recent years, just to spice things up. Let me know what you think. I'll be updating soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sinestro sat in the dim light of his cell, his head hanging between his shoulders, hidden in shadow.

As John Stewart approached, the prisoner did not look up.

"So you finally did it," Stewart barked. "You finally sank as low as you could get!"

Sinestro didn't respond.

"He was your friend! When it all went to Hell, he was the one person who stood up for you at your trial!"

Nothing.

"Did you think that would make it easier? Did you think that he wouldn't fight back? That he'd just hand over his ring!"

Silence.

"You make me sick."

John Stewart turned to leave.

Sinestro looked up.

"Earth is such a lovely planet, John Stewart," he smiled his superior smirk. "Enjoy your trip back home."

Stewart eyed Sinestro suspiciously for a moment, and then left, deciding not to give him the satisfaction of asking for an explanation.

8888888888888888

The Planet Earth. Sector 2814.

Kyle Rayner sighed as he used to ring to dodge yet another of Sonar's sonic blasts.

_If he could actually aim, he'd be deadly as heck, _Kyle thought._ Meanwhile, all he's doing is busting up concrete and scaring citizens. _

"That's right. Flee, Green Lantern!" the nut in the band geek uniform and bad haircut screamed. "My sound waves are more than you and your puny ring can handle. I will prove that sound is more powerful than light!"

Kyle turned in a mid-air and fired several beams of light from his ring.

"You know something, Sonar? I think you may be right!"

Sonar dropped to the ground, holding his hands to his ears as he was suddenly surrounded by numerous bells, boom boxes, and mega phones, all made out a green energy and all aimed at him, blasting out intense and overpowering sound.

"But me? I prefer a little silence," Kyle smiled as he used the ring to create a cartoon mime, ripped on steroids, who punched Sonar in the jaw and left him unconscious.

As the cartoon performer placed the criminal safely under his invisible box, Kyle noticed he was suddenly surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Way to go, GL!"

"You rock!"

"You kicked his-"

"Okay everybody," Kyle spoke up, slightly embarrassed by all the praise. "Thanks for the kudos. All in a day's work."

As the police pulled up to collect Sonar, Kyle took his leave of the crowd and flew up above the city.

He smiled to himself and did a few loops in the air, enjoying the freedom of flight. From his ring, he produced a few stray thoughts, artistic expressions he intended to capture on paper later, giving them a more permanent life.

"Nice work back there, rookie," a voice called out from behind him.

Kyle turned to see another Green Lantern. He was shocked to see it was an Earthman like himself wearing the ring. All the other Lanterns he'd ever seen were aliens.

"Holy crap! Another GL?"

"My name is John Stewart," the other Lantern began. "It's my duty to inform you that you have been reassigned to the Green Lantern base on Oa. There you will begin your proper training. I will act as your replacement here on Earth. You have 24 hours to get your life in order, say goodbye to your friends and loved ones, and then report for duty."

His face softened for a moment, as if he really felt bad about tearing up this kid's life.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Kyle just hung there for a moment, floating on the breeze as he tried to take all this in.

"So you're telling me," he said as last, "that I have to leave Earth? And that I get to go live in space? With actual aliens?"

Kyle paused a moment, before shooting up into the sky, his arms spread almost as wide as the smile on his face.

"WOOO-HOOOO!" he hollered in joy.

Stewart watched Kyle zoom about the air, following the younger man with his eyes.

"This kid's crazy," he said under his breath.

888888888888888

Nearby, deep under the Earth's surface, a spark lit. It pulsed and lingered for several moments before finally growing and consuming some of the ground around it for fuel.

This fire needed life. And it would soon find it….

On the surface.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The city of Metropolis shone like a bright, perfect jewel as the twin streaks of green energy zoomed overhead.

"Sorry about that, back there," Kyle Rayner was saying. "It's just that, for a comic book geek like me, living in space would be a dream come true."

John Stewart almost chuckled at his partner's eagerness. "Don't worry about it. Oa will suck all that enthusiasm out of you soon enough."

The pair finally came to rest atop a building crowned by a giant golden globe.

"Are you sure he'll be here?" John asked.

"Yeah, I called ahead," Kyle responded.

They turned a corner and found him standing on the edge of the rooftop, surveying his city.

Superman.

"Green Lantern, always a pleasure," the Man of Steel turned to shake Kyle's hand. "Haven't seen a lot of you since you relocated to the West Coast. Who's your friend?"

Kyle stood between the other two men and handled introductions.

"John Stewart meet Superman, Superman meet John Stewart. He's my replacement."

"Replacement? You're not retiring already, are you?" Superman smiled, deepening the lines on his face.

"No, ha," Kyle laughed. "I'm on my way back to the home office, so to speak. And John's going to fill in for me while I'm gone. He's a real pro. I just thought you two ought to meet up and get acquainted."

Superman offered his hand to John. "So, Mr. Stewart, how long have you been at this?"

John took Superman's hand.

"Longer than you," he replied. "I've spent the last ten years stationed on Oa as a member of the Honor Guard, putting out fires all over the universe. But now Earth is under my _official_ jurisdiction while Kyle is away. Just thought you should know."

Superman stared at John for a moment, not showing any emotion. Finally, he smiled.

"Well, I'm sure Earth is lucky to have you back. Welcome home. I look forward to working with you."

88888888888888888

"I can't believe you just talked to Superman like that!" Kyle freaked out as he and John left Metropolis and headed back towards Coast City.

"Look, kid. We are the real cops here," John assured Kyle. "Guys like Superman are just well-meaning amateurs."

Kyle sighed. "Well, do yourself a favor. If we run into Batman, keep it to yourself."

"And why does he look so tired?" John asked.

"You don't know? Well, a while back this evil god named Darkseid attacked Earth and brainwashed Superman into helping. Superman eventually snapped out of it and kicked Darkseid's butt all over space, but he's been working pretty much 24/7 ever since to try and make up for it," Kyle explained.

"In fact, he even mentioned maybe forming some kind of coalition or league. You know, a team of superheroes to fight against stuff like that in the future. I told him I'd think about it. He'll probably ask you. Maybe…"

John shook his head. "Like hell. We're already members of a team."

"Got special rings and everything," Kyle smiled. "Sorry…" he said after a moment.

8888888888888888888

As the pair talked, they didn't notice a small spark of flame erupting from the ground below them. It sat there for a moment before suddenly zooming off in a straight line, along the ground.

It zigzagged a few times, as if looking for something, before coming close to a young camper, cooking hot dogs over an open fire.

"What the heck?" the man said as he saw the flame approach. Before he could do anything, the living flame collided with his own campfire, resulting in a huge explosion.

The young man screamed out as the fires possessed him, entering his body and setting his blood to boil.

Before long, the man was gone, replaced by a ghostly shadow of his former self, with chalk white skin and empty eyes. The flames rose and fell about him as they took control.

His name was now Effigy.

88888888888888

"So let me ask you, why the mask?" said John. "Are you ashamed or something?"

Kyle self-consciously touched the mask on his face.

"Heck no! But, I mean, I'm a superhero. It's just what you do. Got to protect your secret ID from all the bad guys out there."

"You mean, like, if your enemies found out who you are, they'd go after your girlfriends or co-workers to get to you?"

"Well, yeah," Kyle agreed. "Although, I don't exactly have a girlfriend at the moment. Or a job. Actually, that's kind of why I'm excited to get a fresh start by heading into space."

"Well, you won't need a mask in space."

"So, you're eyes aren't, like, a disguise or something?" Kyle asked, referencing how John's eyes were always glowing a pale green.

"No. Consequence of too much time spent on the job," John explained. "My body absorbed too much background energy from the lantern. Now my eyes flare up every time I put on the ring."

"You think that'll happen to me?"

"Only if you live long enough. Not a lot of guys make it to that milestone."

"Whoa," Kyle breathed.

"Like I said, we aren't superheroes. We're cops."

"Attention JOHN STEWART/KYLE RAYNER," came a voice, as both men's rings lit up. "Alert, Code 315 in progress, six miles northeast of current position."

"See what I mean?" John said as he looked in the direction the ring specified. "I can handle this. Why don't you head on home? It's your last day; you've got to get your life in order."

"No way!" Kyle insisted. "Look, I know you're some tough guy, but I'm not letting you go on alone. Earth is still under my jurisdiction for another 20-something hours. So let's go!"

Kyle flew off as John watched him go.

"Heh, kid might have what it takes after all."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What happened here?" Kyle asked. "Don't tell me the ring just called us in for a forest fire."

He and John were flying over the smoking remains of a forest. The fire had apparently been so hot that many of the trees had been burned to white ash.

"No," John replied, "it said a 315. That's a hostile alien life-form. Ring, trace the source of the disturbance."

John's ring lit up for a moment as it scanned the area. Locking onto the energy signature, it let the pair towards the source. As they approached, they could feel the air getter hotter, even through their force-fields. Suddenly, they spotted the blaze.

"There it is!" John pointed. "I don't know what we're dealing with here, so stay –"

A bolt of fire tore through the air and slammed into Kyle, sending him sprawling backwards!

"Kyle!" John shouted, before immediately having to dodge a blast himself. Then another, then another.

John maneuvered through the sky, jackknifing between fireballs as he worked his way closer to his attacker.

In the heat of the storm, John saw the man. His pale, ghost-white body seemed to manipulate the mounds of fire around him as he smiled at John, his eyes dead and lacking any mirth.

John recognized him instantly.

"Oh, damn…" he groaned.

Concentrating, Effigy withdrew all the random fires from the area, bringing them back into him as his glow intensified. Suddenly, he motioned to John, and four giant dragons, made of living flame, roared at the Green Lantern as they came for him.

John Stewart gritted his teeth and stood his ground. He was prepared to fight until the end.

But just then, four medieval knights, composed of green energy, appeared out of nowhere and sliced off the heads of all four dragons!

John turned to see Kyle, slightly burned with his suit smoking in places, but otherwise fine, directing the actions of the knights.

"What the hell is that thing!" the younger man yelled.

"It's an Effigy. A living fire creature from beyond the 3600 Sectors. Their very presence has been outlawed by the Guardians!"

John and Kyle both dove at the fire-wielder, dodging and attacking simultaneously.

"So what's it doing here?" Kyle shouted.

A look of realization washed over John's face.

"This must be what he meant…"

Instantly, he was standing opposite the cell on Oa, staring at Sinestro's superior smirk.

_Earth is such a lovely planet, John Stewart,_ he had said._ Enjoy your trip back home._

"Sinestro must have left this thing here as a time bomb!" he shouted, deflecting yet another fireball.

"Well, let's put it out!" yelled Kyle as he aimed his ring at Effigy.

Suddenly, standing above the fire-creature was a giant Smokey the Bear, with a water bucket the size of a pool, which he quickly poured over Effigy, in hopes of putting out this blaze.

A second later, Effigy's flame erupted again, shattering the bear and blasting back John and Kyle.

"What is the deal with you and the cartoon characters?" John howled.

"I'm an artist, what do you want? It's what I see when I use the ring. Why do you only use it to fire lasers and fly?"

_Is that why the Guardians are so interested in this kid?_ John thought._ Because he does things with the ring no other Lantern has thought of before?_

"How do we beat this thing?" Kyle called, breaking John's train of thought.

"It's a parasite!" he answered. "It needs its host to survive. If we can take out the man, the beast will lose power!"

"But we can't kill him!" Kyle cried.

"We don't have to," John said, launching himself into the sky. "We just have to lure the monster out of him!"

Effigy sent another few bolts after him, following him higher and higher into the sky.

"He doesn't have an infinite amount of fire," John explained to Kyle over the ring's communication system. "He IS the fire. And if I can draw enough of it out, I can weaken the host enough for you to clobber him!"

As the trail lengthened, the strength of the flame seemed to fade, and the man at the bottom began to wobble on his feet.

"I think it's working," Kyle called. "It looks like he's getting tired."

"Then hit him!" John shouted, still running. "And this time, no cartoon characters!"

Kyle charged up his ring and flew at the Effigy-possessed man, whose power was quickly leaving him.

"Okay," he smiled. "I've got this!"

Kyle took a swing at Effigy, his ring-hand surrounded by an enormous amount of green energy, in the shape of a large boxing glove.

The crack of power was almost deafening, at the poor man was hurled away from the blast, knocking loose his connection to the Effigy.

The trail of fire that followed John Stewart into the sky quickly diminished and fell back to Earth, turning into nothing more than a small spark, which Kyle quickly contained like a firefly in a jar of energy.

John wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Whew," he sighed.

A little while later, John Stewart slung the unconscious man over his shoulder and shook Kyle's free hand.

"Give that little fellow to the Guardians when you get to Oa," he was saying, "You'll probably get a promotion. I've got to get this guy to a hospital."

"Thanks for everything, John," Kyle said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"I think you probably could have," John smiled. "You make a hell of a Lantern, kid. But seriously, no more cartoon characters."

"Alright. But only if you promise to use your ring for more than just lasers!"

"Hey, I may not think outside the box," John said, "but I am Hell inside the box!"

With that, Kyle laughed and flew off. "See you around. I hope you like living on Earth again."

John rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe if I find something worth sticking around for," he sighed and flew off in the other direction.

A fair distance away, his going was observed by a sharp pair of eyes as a woman transmitted the image on her screen to her superior.

"Opening assessment complete, sir," she said. "It seems the rumors are true. The Guardians have sent in one of the Honor Guard to replace the rookie. Together they managed to defeat the Effigy easily. Awaiting further orders."

"Continue with the mission as planned," a voice crackled over the radio. "Observation only. Contact will have to wait until this new threat can be assessed. Over and out, Commander Hol."

"Very well, sir," Shayera Hol answered, closing communications.

She fitted her helmet to her head, and picked up her mace. Looking towards the heaves, Hawgirl spread her wings and rose into the air to explore her new world.

888888888888888888888888

S-Shield's notes

Well, that's it. Hoped you all enjoyed reading it.

I've hade a lot of these ideas for a while, about how Kyle and John switched places before the Justice League cartoon, and mentioning why John only used the ring to fire lasers in the first few season. And I always wanted to write them up. Hopefully this was an entertaining story on its own.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought.


End file.
